This is a two day fell running/orienteering event with a variety of different classes entered by teams of two. Our class was the "medium score" and this meant that we would try and get to as many checkpoints in a set time period - 6 hours on the Saturday and 5 hours on the Sunday. Each check point was worth a different number of points and for every minute that we took beyond our time limit we would lose 2 points. To add to the fun we had to be self-sufficient for the two days we were out there, carrying all of our food and camping gear.

The location of the event remained a secret until the end of the summer when we were told it would be up in Scotland in Galloway Forest Park. This area is usually closed to the public and we were banned from carrying out a recce before the event! While all the other competitors chatted away on the race forum and got nervously excited about the race and its location I was blissfully unaware of the reputation that the Galloway Forest Park had in the context of this event. Until I decided to have a look at the website a couple of days before the start and was greeted by the following description... "The great tufted mounds of marsh grass, with their crevasse like chasms between: the deepest, thickest heather in Britain: the fierce rocky outcrops barring progress in any useful direction. And above all, the great sodden, oozing, spongy black mass of water which sprang to meet every footfall. Even in the unlikely event the weather is kind the ‘forest fights’, bogs, crags and midges await them at one of the toughest venues in outdoor adventure sport. It won’t be a Sunday afternoon picnic – and that’s the very reason they are going." Had I finally bitten off more than I could chew?!!!

After driving for 3 hours out of Glasgow into the mountains in the rain and dark on Friday evening we came to the race headquarters - a temporary settlement in the middle of the forest which was buzzing with activity. Massive marquees had been set up, generators were humming and there were volunteers everywhere, braving the rain to ensure the smooth running of the entire operation. We registered and then got a big hot meal inside us before settling down for the night.

We rose early on the Saturday morning and it was very dark. And pouring with rain.

We had a 3km walk up to the start and got chatting to the guys next to us. They were doing the Elite class. "Does that really mean you do 26 miles today and 26 tomorrow?" I asked. "Yes, though we think we might have to do more today," they replied nonchalantly. These guys really are crazy!

We were among the greats, however - as we were walking up to the start, Sir Ranulph Fiennes strode past. As I watched his impressively imposing stature disappearing off into the mist I momentarily allowed myself to imagine that I was on my way up Everest! It was pretty awe inspiring to be competing in an event alongside someone who has achieved as much as he has - and he was treated no differently from anyone else, we were all just walking up to the start in the rain together.

It was a staggered start and we were the second team off. We couldn't quite work out how we had earned this privilege - then Laura pointed out to me that maybe writing that we had "extensive hill walking experience" on our application form could have been a contributory factor! Well - you've got to believe in yourself haven't you?!

Thanks to the cloud and rain, visibility was about 20m and, since there were no paths where we needed to go, we had to navigate our entire route using our compass. This made for extremely slow progress not helped by (a) there being virtually no distinguishing features in the landscape and (b) our compass being intermittently thrown off by both the granite rocks surrounding us and the magnetic swipe (for logging at each of the check points) around my neck. This meant that we were only able to cover between 2 to 3km per hour.

Seeing as I could barely stay upright walking on the terrain (the description I had seen on the website beforehand was pretty much spot on!) I have an incredible respect and admiration for the guys who actually run these things. Occasionally a couple of people would appear out of the cloud and hurtle past us at speed chasing after some points and seemingly not needing to use their compass to quite the same extent that we did! During the day I redefined my objectives and decided that my main aim for the weekend would be to finish without breaking my ankle!

I wouldn't say that we covered ourselves in glory on that first day getting to camp over an hour late and ending up with minus 82 points! But we were still a reasonable distance from last. And we finished and that is more than a lot of people!

The overnight camp was quite an impressive sight with hundreds of one- and two-man tents dotted all over the hillside and lines of people walking around with headtorches looking like little ants. Unfortunately it was still pouring with rain and so it wasn't quite the social event we had anticipated as everyone was stuck inside their tents trying to stay awake until an arguably appropriate time to go to sleep.

The guy in the tent next to us appeared to be called Norbert and so that entertained us for a while (apologies to anyone whose dad/brother/uncle is called Norbert!). I also seemed to provide entertainment to several people as I was wandering around in my flourescent white arctic thermals looking like the abominable snowman!

After being battered by wind and rain all night, we woke up to much clearer skies on day 2 which boded well. Being able to see made for a much easier day as we were able to navigate by sight and didn't need to use the compass once. It also made it possible to see routes across the hills and so we could avoid the worst of the tussocks. It also helped to be able to see the other competitors! Combining this with everything we had learned from day 1 (mainly that we weren't as fast as we had thought and should go for the shortest possible route "cheating" as much as possible by making maximum use of forestry tracks) made for a much more enjoyable and successful day. I also decided to tape my ankles from the start. It made a huge difference and actually turns out to be a strategy adopted by the seasoned pros. I only went over on my ankles about 5 times!

Unlike day 1 we were able to run the majority of the time. Running through bogs definitely enabled me to indulge in my favourite pastime of getting muddy and I am not sure any of my clothes will ever look quite the same again.

We finished with half an hour to spare and though we didn't quite manage to get our overall points into positive figures we did move into the top 200 and that will do me just fine.

So - have I decided to move across from triathlon to fell running? I don't think so. I don't think that I am destined to do particularly well in a sport in which I fall over even more times than I do when I am mountain biking. And that's saying something! I also realised that for me being in the hills is something I do for the enjoyment of being out there and not something that I like to do as a race against the clock.

That said, the OMM was a fantastic experience and I really would recommend that you try an event like this as it is totally different from the more commercial races that a lot of us have done this season. The atmosphere was really good and everyone was out to enjoy themselves. It was also one of the best organised events I have ever done by far.

Hannah